BRIDGEPORT -- St. Vincent's Medical Center has eliminated 100 positions and laid off nearly 50 employees this week, including some nurses and doctors. The cuts are expected to save the hospital about $10 million.

The job cuts come at time of major shifts in the health care climate, such as increased competition, a decrease in state aid and the effects of the federal sequester.

"This is a case of trying to look forward and protecting the direction and mission of our organization as the ground shifts beneath us," said Dianne Auger, vice president of St. Vincent's Health Services, of which the hospital is a part.

Few employees would comment on the job cuts Tuesday afternoon, though one woman on her way in for the afternoon shift slammed the hospital as a "deceitful and dishonorable" place to work. She declined to give her name.

Layoffs began Monday and continued Tuesday. The cuts were across all levels of the hospital, and included some nurse and doctor positions, though Auger said those positions made up only a small percentage of the layoffs. Of the positions cut, 48 were filled and resulted in layoffs.

The final number of those laid off, however, could be less, Auger said, as some of those whose jobs were eliminated have been offered other positions. The layoffs were effective immediately, she said, and those who have lost jobs were offered severance packages, as well as outplacement and transition counseling.

More Information

St. Vincent's layoffs by the numbersNumber of jobs cut: 100 -- 48 filled positions, 52 vacantAmount of money saved from cuts: About $10 millionNumber of employees at St. Vincent's: 3,500

Auger said the company was trying to make the impact on patient care as small as possible.

"This is a painful thing to go through," she said.

The hospital employs about 3,500 people. This marks the first major round of layoffs in about 10 years.

The layoffs were first announced last month, when Auger and other officials said they were responding to an expected loss of state and federal funding. Under the state budget passed last week, hospitals stand to lose $550 million in state aid over two years. Auger said this will mean a loss of about $30 million for St. Vincent's.

"A state budget that cuts hospitals by $550 million will result in job loss and the loss of programs and services," said Michele Sharp, director of communications and public affairs for the Connecticut Hospital Association. "It is unfortunate that the budget that was passed retained these cuts. This is one of the inevitable consequences we will be seeing as a result."

State officials have balked at the hospitals characterizing the reduction in aid in the budget as a cut, when it is actually flat funding. The state's hospitals received $1.7 billion last year, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget held that funding level. But this year, the state is not providing additional funding for uncompensated care -- those who don't have insurance and cannot pay -- contending that federal funds from the Affordable Health Care Act will cover those cases. The hospitals see that as a loss.

The hospital also will lose about $5 million in fiscal year 2014 because of the federal sequestration. Officials have also said that, due to the Affordable Care Act, fewer people are seeking care at hospitals and are instead turning to lower-cost providers.

Still, Sharp said the loss of the expected money will hit hospitals hard and St. Vincent's likely won't be the only one to cut staff.